Machine for packeting cigarettes and the like



Nov, 7, 1939. HORGAN 2.179.123

MACHINE FOR PACKETING CIGARETTES AND THE LIKE Filed July 29, 19:57 2 Shets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY.

Nov. 7, 1939. e. D; HORGAN 2,179,123

MACHINE FOR PAGKETING CIGARETTES AND THE LIKE Filed July 29, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 7, 1939 MACHINE FOR PACKETING GIGARETTES AND THE LIKE George Daniel Horgan, London, England, assignor to American Machine & Foundry Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application July 29, 1937, Serial No. 156,345 In Great Britain August 1, 1936 4 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for packeting cigarettes and the like in which the articles are enclosed with cartons of the slide and shell type.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved packeting machine which may be arranged as a single feed machine and may be readily converted into a duplex feed machine without the necessity of altering the driving mechanism, or, if desired, a machine capable of dealing simultaneously with two difierent size packets.

. To this end the invention consists in a packeting machine comprising a turret ring adapted to be rotated about a vertical axis and driven from a main central shaft, a plurality of radiating countershafts adapted to drive units each comprising a slide feed, a folder bed, as at F and at FF, and a shell feed, which units radiate from the turret ring at spaced points, the drive to these units being so arranged that the units may be duplicated and driven directly therefrom.

The invention also comprises a machine for packeting cigarettes or like shaped articles in slide and shell cartons comprising a turret rtating about a vertical axis and driven from a central shaft, a plurality of radiating countershafts adapted to drive each a slide feed unit, a filler unit and a shell feed unit, which units are disposed laterally of the respective shafts, the drive to the units being such that duplex units may be located on the opposite side of the shafts and driven therefrom without alteration of the driving arrangements.

The accompanying diagrammatic drawings illustrate in Fig. 1 in plan a packing machine according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the drive for the filler units on a larger scale, and Figure 3 is a plan view of the central part of the turret ring of Figure 1, on a larger scale.

In carrying the invention into effect according to one convenient mode, as applied to the packeting of cigarettes, a turret or ring I is provided adapted to be intermittently rotated about a vertical axis from a centrally arranged drive shaft 2. Preferably the drive is elfected through gears 3, 4, 5 to a Geneva drive as described in application for United States Letters Patent, Serial No. 111,421, filed November 18, 1936, in the name of John Crighton, and comprising a rotary driving pin 6 adapted to engage radial grooves 1 beneath the turret ring, means-(not shown) being the ring I is provided with radial grooves 8.

adapted for locating means 9 for receiving the slides E0 of the cartons from a slide feed ll arranged radially of the ring. The slides are conveyed by the ring to a circumferentially displaced station at which foiled packets of cigarettes are inserted in the slides from a radially arranged hopper and foil feed unit l2 (hereinafter referred to as filler unit). The turret ring I then conveys the slides with the inserted foiled bundles to a third station where they are removed from the turret and inserted into the shells by a radially arranged shell feed unit I3.

The main units ll, l2 and I3 at the three stations are driven by radially arranged countershafts I4, l5 and I6, which are driven from a bevel gear IT on the main shaft 2 with which bevel pinions l8, i9, on the countershafts are in mesh.

The countershafts may be arranged at 120 or other suitableangle to each other.

The countershafts M and it for the slide feed unit II and shell feed unit l3 are provided with bevel pinions 2!, 22 meshing with pinions 23, 24 associated with the drive shafts of the main slide and shell feed units, which shafts are arranged transversely of the units. The drive from the bevel pinions 23 and 24 to the shafts of their respective units is through a train of gears 21, 28. These main slide and shell feed units II and I3 lie to one side of the radial countershafts l4 and It. The supplementary or duplex slide and shell feed units 25 and 26 are adapted to be driven directly from the bevel pinions 2| and 22 on the outer end of the countershafts l4 and I6 through pinions 34, but as they are mounted on the opposite side of the countershafts to the main units II and I 3 and the drive to'the units is arranged on the opposite hand, the interposition of gear trains becomes unnecessary.

The countershaft l5 for the main and duplex filler units drives the shaft 31 of the main filler unit through a skew gear 38, 39. The shaft 31 of the main unit is arranged longitudinally thereof and at the side. Adjacent the skew gear 38, 39 the shaft 31 is provided with a bevel pinion 30 by which the duplex filler unit 3| is adapted to be driven, the shaft 32 of the duplex unit being provided with a meshing bevel pinion 33.

It will be appreciated that the shaft 32 of the duplex filler bed unit is on the side of the duplex unit adjacent to that of the main filler bed unit.

With the improved arrangement of layout and driving means, the supplemental or duplex units 25, 26, 3| may thus be readily applied to the machine, requiring only bolting in place so that 5 the appropriate gears 2|, 34; 22, 35; 30, 33 are in mesh. The beds of the units are provided with supporting brackets which are bolted to the mounting 4-0 of the machine.

The disposition of the main units ll, l2, i3 is such that alternate slide engaging elements on the ring are used, the remainder of the elements being for the supplementary or duplex units 25, 26, 3|. By this arrangement the machine may be operated in connection with a single supply of cigarettes using only the main units, or by the addition of the supplementary or duplex units the machine may be converted into a duplex machine thus doubling the output, or two different brands of cigarettes may be packed simultaneously, or by the substitution of the appropriate parts, the machine may deal with two difierent size packings at the same time.

The particular construction of the various elements of the units forms no part of the invention and will therefore not be dealt with herein.

I claim: 1. A machine for packeting cigarettes or likeshaped articles, comprising a turret ring rotatable about a vertical axis, a central drive shaft, 0* means for driving the turret from said shaft with an intermittent motion, a plurality of radiating countershafts driven from the central shaft, and a plurality of packing units driven from the countershafts, said packing units being disposed in pairs of duplex packing units, and means to connect each unit of each pair to one of said countershafts, one unit of each pair being intergeared with its particular countershaft permanently and the other unit of each pair having a readily disconnectible driving gear set connecting said countershaft and unit.

2. A machine for packeting cigarettes or like shaped articles; said machine comprising a turret ring, means for driving the ring with an in- -termittent motion about a vertical axis, a plurality of driving means located adjacent to the periphery at spaced portions of the ring, a plurality of packing units driven by said driving means, said packing units being disposed in pairs of duplex packing units, and means to connect each unit of each pair to an appropriate part of said driving means adjacent to the periphery at a suitable point, at least one unit of each of said pairs being readily removable to convert said turret from a twin feed operation to a single feed operation.

3. A machine for packeting cigarettes or likeshaped articles comprising a turret ring, means for intermittently rotating the turret about a vertical axis, a plurality of radiating countershafts driving packing units co-operating with the turret, said packing units being disposed in pairs of duplex packing units, one pair in juxtaposition with each countershait, and connections whereby each countershaft drives each unit of its pair, one unit on either side of the shaft.

4. A machine for packeting cigarettes or like shaped articles in slide and shell cartons, comprising a turret ring, means for intermittently rotating the turret about the axis of a vertical shaft, said turret having means adapted to hold the slides, a plurality of radiating countershafts arranged in spaced relation around the turret, one of said countershafts being adapted to drive one or more slide feed units; a second radiating countershaft adapted to drive one or more shell feed units, a third radiating countershaft adapted to drive main and duplex filler units; said radiating countershafts and units being arranged in spaced relation around the turret, with bevel gearing by which said radiating countershafts are driven from said main shaft; a main filler unit provided with a fourth countershait and skew gearing intermediate said last-named countershaft and said third radiating countershaft; and a duplex filler imit provided with a fifth countershait and bevel gearing by whichsaid fifth countershaft and the duplex filler unit are driven from the fourth countershaft.

GEORGE DANIEL I-IORGAN. 

